White House officials failed to outline a strategic vision for U.S. involvement in the Syrian conflict during a briefing with lawmakers this week, according to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
“We had a briefing by the White House on Friday. They still presented us with no plan,” Kaine said Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“We don’t know if it’s limited or whether there’s more. And when we asked about the legal authorization, they said they weren’t prepared to discuss that, but they hoped to discuss it in the coming days,” Kaine said. “Again, our system is, we don’t want a president — any president — just being able to start a war or launch missiles whenever they want.”
Kaine has consistently argued in favor of requiring presidents to seek congressional authorization for military action, pushing both Barack Obama and President Trump to detail military plans in Congress before engaging.
“Where I differ from this administration — and I took the same position with respect to President Obama — we are a nation where you’re not supposed to initiate military action, start war, without a plan that’s presented to and approved by Congress,” Kaine said. “That makes us different than virtually any nation in the world.”
